The Farm Place, Inc. has received a Walmart Local Community Grant in the amount of $3,000. The grant will go toward construction of the Animal Companionship Center (ACC) in LaGrange, which represents Phase II of The Farm Place. Construction of the ACC is slated to begin in spring of 2022.
The purpose of the ACC is to provide a private, safe environment where area professionals can offer court-ordered visitations and life skills training, with the added benefit of comfort animal therapy. Currently, children affected by the trauma of separation from their parents must endure these visitations in very public places such as fast-food restaurants, park benches, or library study rooms.
The ACC will offer private meeting rooms that can be scheduled by agencies such as DCS, Northeastern Center, and Bowen Center free of charge, and will be available to agencies in LaGrange, Steuben, DeKalb, and Noble counties. Small farm animals will be housed in the barn and stables attached to the ACC.
The board members of The Farm Place are so pleased by the blessing of Walmart’s generosity. John Gilbert, manager at the Sturgis, Michigan Walmart store, was very patient and helpful in the process and we are deeply grateful.
Walmart awards local community grants through an open application process, and provides funding directly from Walmart and Sam’s Club facilities to local organizations in the U.S. Eligible nonprofit organizations for this grant must operate on the local level and directly benefit the service area of the facility from which they are requesting the grant.
About The Farm Place
Established in 2016, The Farm Place, Inc. is a faith-based initiative whose mission is “To provide a safe, nurturing, and restorative place for children in need through animal companionship and other therapeutic methods.” In Phase I of The Farm Place, ten acres of land was purchased and a three-story, eight-bedroom, handicap-accessible home was built and paid for. A licensed foster family occupies the home, and more than 40 children have passed through its doors since March of 2020.
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